“I could teach him not to catch birds for Deveels for ten gold pieces,” the troll grinned, winking at his sister. “That seems to be a part of his education you’ve neglected.”
“Izzat so!” my partner bristled. “You’re going to teach him about price setting? How about the time you set your own sister up to steal an elephant without bothering to check . . .”
. And they were off again. As I listened, I found myself reflecting on the fact that while it was nice to know the depths of my friends’ feelings about me, it was far more comfortable when they managed to conceal it under a cloak of banter. For the most part, open sincerity is harder to take than friendly laughter.
Chapter Sixteen:
“Don’t be fooled by appearances.”
-MALLOY
THINGS were pretty much back to normal by the time Vilhelm returned with our disguises . . . which was a good thing as the process of masking-up proved to be a test of everybody’s sense of humor.
Until I had hooked up with Aahz, I had never had occasion to pretend I was anyone but myself. As such, I had no way of knowing how long it took to don a physical disguise without resorting to magic. By the time we were done, I had a new respect for the skills I had learned, not to mention a real longing for a dimension . . . any dimension with a strong force line to work with.
Tananda was a major help, her experiences with the assassin’s guild came into play and she took the lead in trying to coach us into our new roles.
“Guido, straighten up!” she commanded, exasperation creeping into her voice. “You walk like a gangster.”